Marking stamp



Jan. 5, 1943. D. H. HARDY MARKING STAMP Filed Feb. 21, 1941 Patented Jan. 5, 1943 UNETED STATES PTENT OFFICE MARKING STAMP Donovan H. Hardy, Norfolk, Va.

Application February 21, 1941, Serial No. 380,039

7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved marking stamp.

One object of the invention is to provide a marking stamp which is characterized by the maximum simplicity of construction and ease of fabrication.

Another object of the invention is to provide a marking stamp, the use of which will not require a stamp pad or other ink supply source.

A further object of the invention is to provide a marking stamp which may be used on uncolored cottons and linens, or similar materials, for producing a neat indelible print.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stamp of this character having letters made of cheap material with the result that a long lasting stamp may be produced at a minimum cost.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a marking stamp having a handle which is formed of mating sections, said mating sections having their inner surfaces coated with cement for tightly gripping the letters for retaining them in proper position.

And another object of the invention is to provide a marking stamp, portions of the handle Sections of which are coated with cement and initially spread to permit entry of marking letters between the sections and subsequently moved toward each other for engaging the letters in the cement whereby said letters will be retained in proper spaced position in the handle and partially projecting therefrom.

Other objects of the invention, not mentioned herenbefore, will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my marking stamp,

Figura 2 is a Vertical sectional view of the marking stamp, on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view showing a strip of material before separation into a plurality of handle Sections, the view particularly showing that portion of the section which is treated with cement,

Figure 4 is a Vertical longitudinal sectional view of the improved marking stamp,

Figure 5 is a bottom face view of the marking stamp, the binding strips being shown extended and ready to be moved into binding position over the ends of the stamp,

Figure 6 is an exploded end view of the marking stamp and showing the position of the handle preliminary to placing the letter elements therein, i

Figure 7 is a Vertical transverse sectional view showing a slightly modified embodiment of the invention, and

Figure 8 is an end view showing another modified construction.

In the drawing, like numerals of reference will be seen to designate similar parts throughout the views. The handle of my improved marking stamp is indicated in general at l. The handle l is formed of a pair of mating Sections 2 and 3, said Sections each comprising a wall element '4 and a spacer element 5.

Inasmuch as the Sections 2 and 3 are of identical construction, it is deemed necessary to describe but one of them. The section 2, for example, comprises the wall element 4 and the spacer element 5, the spacer element 5 being located at the upper inner face portion of said wall element. The wall and spacer elements are preferably formed of balsa wood or other suitable light weight material. The use of this material insures that the wall element will be at least partially fiexible. A coating of cement 6 is applied to the inner face of the wall element 4 throughout its entire length, it being understood that said coating extends from the lower edge of the spacer element 5 to the lower edge of the wall element. The cement coating 6 may be of any desired composition. It has been found, however, that cement formed of two parts of rosin and one part of gum shellac and pigment serves the purpose in a highly satisfactory manner. In Figure 3 of the drawings, I have shown a strip prepared in sucha manner that it may be cut to define a plurality of sections 2 and 3 which sections may be of any desired length, the length depending upon the number of letters to be employed in connection with the stamp. By preparing a strip, as shown in Figure 3, a large number of stamps may be made with the utmost facility.

After the sections have been prepared as shown in Figure 3 and have been cut to the desired length, it is only necessary to place mating sections in engaging relation, as shown in Figure 2, to form the handle of my improved marking stamp. A coating of glue is applied to the faces of the spacer elements '5 for retaining the sections 2 and 3 in proper operative positions. The handle I is thus made ready to 'receive the letter elements of the marking stamp. The letter elements are formed in the following manner: Ordinary glue is melted in hot water and soap is also grated and melted in the hot water. The

resultant compound is worked up with carbon black until a stiff dough is produced. Excess moisture is eliminated and, finally, the dough is vplaced in a cylinder or other retort and is forced through dies to produce the desired marking elements. The marking elements are, of course, allowed to harden before being placed in use.

When it is desired to place the marking elements in operative position in the handle, the handle is held above a fiame or other source of heat until the ooatings of cement 6 on the inner faces of the wall elements 4 become softened. As shown in Figure 6, the wall elements 4 may then be slightly fiexed outwardly for receiving the letter elements, which are designated at 1. The elements 1 are forced upwardly within the handle as far as they will go. That is to say, until the upper ends of said elements abut the lower edges of the spacer elements. The wall elements are then moved toward each other and into engagement with the end edges of the letter elements, the cement, of course, surrounding said end edges and eifectually gripping the same. When the cement has been allowed to cool, the

elements 1 will be elfectively retained in position in the handle. Portions of said elements 'I will extend downwardly past the ends of the wall elements 4 for engagement with a surface to be marked.

Binding strips 8 and 9 are applied to the outer walls of the wall elements 4 of the sections 2 and 3. The binding strip 8 projects past the end of one of the wall elements while the binding strip 9 extends past the corresponding opposite end of the other Wall element, said strips thus defim'ng end closures 1|] for the marking stamp, the end closures being folded, as shown in Figure l, over the open ends of the handle. The binding strips B and 9 are formed of Cellophane, tape or other suitable material and may be deco-,.V

rated or may have advertising or other printed 'i matter thereon.

In use, when it is desired to mark a piece of goods or other like material, it is first made sure that the material to be printed does not,- contain starch or moisture. The material should be placed on a flat surface. A few drops of water are then placed on a flat surface and the lower end of the elements 7 are rubbed in'the water until a thick ink is produced at the ends,

of the elements. The excess ink is removed from the device before printing, to avoid the possibility of blotting. It has been found' desirable to employ a piece of old cloth for marking' test prints, to avoid splatter of ink. It is also desirable to remove the excess ink each time the elements are placed in the ink mixture. In actual marking, the handle is rocked from side to side for assuring that a good indelible print will be made. A suitable amount of water must always be employed to produce sufiicient ink to make' the print.

While my improved marking stamp is intended for use on uncolored cottons and linens, it may be used in connection with other materials by first printing on a small strip of thin white cloth and then attaching the cloth to the material. If desired, water-proof cement may be applied to the strip on which the marking has been made. A second coat of cement is applied and the strip is placed in position on the material to be marked.

1 As the elements 1 are used, the wall elements 4 may be cut away for exposing further portions of said elements 1.

Attention is directed to the fact that the ink will dry very quickly but that cloth should not be washed within twenty-four hours after marking.

In Figure 7 of the drawing, I have shown a slightly modified embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, two handles, indicated at 1 and 12, are retained in adjacent position by means of a pin or bolt 13. A wedge 14 further insures against accidental separation. The handles 11 and 12 are each identical in construction to the handle 1 and are each adapted to mount elements similar to the elements 1. The marking stamp of this embodiment, however, is par- Vticularly useful when it is desirable to mark goods with two words, one above the other.

Referring now to the modification of the invention as shown in Figure 8 of the drawing, the numeral 15 indicates in general the handle of this embodiment of my marking stamp. The handle 15 isformed from a pair of sections 16 and 11 which are connected by a spacer element 18. As will be observed, the spacer element extends downwardly past the lower ends of the elements 1B and 1'1 to define a tongue 19. Like the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 2, the sections 16 and I? include wall elements, said wall elements being shown at 20 and 2|. It should be understood, of course, that the Wall elements 2D and 21 straddle the marking elements 1, as in the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, the tongue 19 spaces the upper faces of the marking elements from the lower faces of the elements 16 and 1'1 so that air will be permitted to circulate between said upper faces of the marking elements and said faces of the elements 16 and 11. The advantage for this particular construction is that ink will not be permitted to clot in and around the marking elements.

The manner of using this embodiment of the invention is identical with that of the other embodiments hereinbefore described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A marking stamp including a handle comprising a pair of sections, a coating of adhesive material on each of said sections, character forming elements interpcsed between the handle sections and held in place by the adhesive material, and a binding member surrounding the handle sections.

` 2. A marking stamp including a handle comprising a pair of handle sections, each of said 4'sections including a fiexible wall element having a' smooth uninterrupted inner face and provided with a rigid spacer element, a coating of cement on each of said wall elements, -and letter ele- 'ments carried by the handle and retained between lportions normally overlying the ends of said handle.

4. The method of making a marking stamp comprising the step of forming a pair of handle sections, applying a coating of cementto'each o f said, sections, heating said sections and coatings of cement, slightly fiexing portions of the sections outwardly, placing letter elements between the outwardly fiexed Sections, and urging the sections toward each other for engaging the coatings of cement with the letter elements.

5. A marking stamp including a handle comprising a pair of handle sections, each of said sections including a wallelement and a spacer element, a spacer between the spacer elements and having a tongue, -and a letter element carried by the handle between the wall elements and having its upper face in engagement with the tongue whereby said upper face will be spaced from the lower faces of the spacer element.

6. In a marking stamp, a handle comprising Sections each having a wall element provided with adhesive material, marking elements carried by the handle between the wall elements and held in place by the adhesive material, and a vbinding strip carried by the handle and having portions overlying the ends of the handle.

-7. A marking stamp formed of a pair of flexible Sections having their inner faces coated with adhesive material and provided above said adhesive material with spacing members disposed in contact with each other to form an intermediate compartment, character forming elements fitting in said compartment and held from accidental displacement by the adhesive. material, and a binding element surrounding said sections for holding the parts in assembled position.

DONOVAN H. HARDY. 

